Youth and Junior Triathletes Earn Titles at 2026 USA Triathlon Youth & Junior Nationals in West Chester, Ohio
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by USA Triathlon
Kaelyn Allen (Rogers, Arkansas) wins the 2026 Youth Draft Legal National Championship.
WEST CHESTER, Ohio – Youth and junior triathletes ages 7-19 raced at Voice of America Park in West Chester, Ohio, for the 2026 USA Triathlon Youth & Junior Nationals on July 31-Aug. 2.
The event marked the 12th year in West Chester, which has long been an athlete and family-friendly venue for Youth & Junior Nationals. The course at Voice of America Park is known for its fast, protected swim in the calm lake waters, a flat and scenic bike loop, and a run course that winds through picturesque park trails.
“West Chester and Butler County have been incredible partners for more than a decade, and this year was no exception,” said Brian D’Amico, USA Triathlon Director of Events. “From the local race organizers to the volunteers to the broader community, everyone came together to put on a fabulous event for our youth and junior athletes. We’re grateful for their continued support.”
Several past and present members of the USA TRI National Team began their triathlon careers on the draft-legal youth and junior racing circuits, including Paris 2024 Olympic medalists Seth Rider and Taylor Knibb, who both won the USA Triathlon Junior national championship in 2015. USA TRI Junior Team athletes raced at this weekend’s 2026 USA Triathlon Youth & Junior Nationals, earning qualification to Nationals by earning points through the USA Triathlon Junior National Series, a series of events across the country in the spring and summer, offering youth and junior athletes the opportunity to race draft-legal triathlon.
"This event brought together the top U19 triathlon talent in the U.S., and the quality of racing did not disappoint. A six-race series provides athletes and coaches an opportunity to develop consistencies in their preparations, while also ensuring enough head-to-head matchups for USA TRI to make selections for the upcoming Junior World Championships,” said Steve Kelley, USA TRI High Performance. “West Chester has a long history of helping us identify the next generation of elite triathlon talent. I hope it inspires many of the youth athletes who travel to Ohio to consider racing in the series next year."
In addition, Youth & Junior Nationals included youth age group races that did not require qualification, offering athletes a fun and competitive opportunity to swim, bike and run.
“Watching this event never gets old,” said Zoe Da Silva, USA Triathlon Youth Pipeline Manager. “From the draft-legal races, where you can see the future of our USA TRI pipeline taking shape, to the youth age group races, where 7-year-olds are crossing the finish line with the biggest smiles on their faces, this weekend was a perfect reminder that triathlon is for everyone. Anyone can do a triathlon, and West Chester showed just how much fun that can be.”
Racing kicked off on Saturday, Aug. 1, with the Junior Draft Legal Race, which consists of a 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike, and 5k run. Youth Draft Legal athletes completed a 375m swim, 10k bike, and 2.5k run. Draft-legal racing is the same format in which elite triathletes compete at the World Triathlon level and the Olympic Games. With drafting allowed on the bike, athletes work together in packs, creating a dynamic, exciting race.
Graham Hummel (Richardson, Texas) of Caliber Endurance won the male Junior Draft Legal Championship in a time of 53 minutes and 53 seconds. Nathanael Hamilton (Fort Worth, Texas), also of Caliber Endurance, placed second in 54:22, and Lucas Wright (Ellicott City, Maryland) of MC Elite placed third in 54:40.
Amelia Avila (Olney, Maryland) placed first in the female Junior Draft Legal Championship in a time of 1:01:15. Alexis Hergenreter (Ankeny, Iowa) of Z3 Triathlon Team placed second in 1:01:51, followed by teammate Sarah Gilhooly (Sioux Falls, South Dakota) in 1:02:00.
Kaelyn Allen (Rogers, Arkansas) placed first in the female Youth Draft Legal Championship in 32:57, followed closely by her sister, Elizabeth Allen (Rogers, Arkansas), in 33:04. Brianna Reilly (Sioux Falls, South Dakota) placed third in 33:23.
In the male Youth Draft Legal Championship, Ryan Clancy (Greensboro, North Carolina) captured the title in a time of 29:59. George Hamilton (Fort Worth, Texas) placed second in 30:07 and Jonathan Peri (Los Gatos, California) placed third in 30:43.
The Youth and Junior Mixed Relay kicked off the final day of competition on Sunday, Aug. 2, which consisted of four triathletes (two boys and two girls) each completing a 200m swim, draft-legal 5k bike, and a 1k run.
Ellie Harlow, Jonas Yiengst, Joren Aardema-Gagnon and Josie Nunziata of Endorphin Fitness Gold placed first overall in 1:07:41. Ava Talabock, Brooke Fricke, Graham Hummel and Nate Hamilton of Caliber Endurance Red placed second in 1:07:52, and Alexis Hergenreter, Clark Steffen, Garrett Gehringer and Jenna Gilhooly of Z3 Gold placed third in 1:08:15.
Z3 Triathlon Team of Des Moines, Iowa, won the High Performance Team championship.
Following the Draft-Legal races on Saturday, athletes ages 13-18 raced in the Youth & Junior Non-Drafting Championships. On Sunday, athletes ages 7-12 competed in the Youth Age Group Non-Drafting Championship races. Athletes ages 11-12 completed a 200m swim, 10k bike, and 2k run, and athletes ages 7-10 completed a 100m swim, 5k bike, and 1k run.
Youth paratriathletes and athletes with intellectual impairments also competed on the same course as the 11-12 age group.
The champions and top five athletes from the Youth & Junior Non-Drafting Championships were honored with awards. The age group champions and the top five are listed below.
Junior Draft Legal National Championship
Male
1. Graham Hummel (Richardson, Texas) – 53:53
2. Nathanael Hamilton (Fort Worth, Texas) – 54:22
3. Lucas Wright (Ellicott City, Maryland) – 54:40
Female
1. Amelia Avila (Olney, Maryland) – 1:01:15
2. Alexis Hergenreter (Ankeny, Iowa) – 1:01:51
3. Sarah Gilhooly (Sioux Falls, South Dakota) – 1:02:00
Youth Draft Legal National Championship
Male
1. Ryan Clancy (Greensboro, North Carolina) – 29:59
2. George Hamilton (Fort Worth, Texas) – 30:07
3. Jonathan Peri (Los Gatos, California) – 30:43
Female
1. Kaelyn Allen (Rogers, Arkansas) – 32:57
2. Elizabeth Allen (Rogers, Arkansas) – 33:04
3. Brianna Reilly (Sioux Falls, South Dakota) – 33:23
Youth and Junior Mixed Relay National Championship
1. Endorphin Fitness Gold (Ellie Harlow, Jonas Yiengst, Joren Aardema-Gagnon, Josie Nunziata) – 1:07:41
2. Caliber Endurance Red (Ava Talabock, Brooke Fricke, Graham Hummel, Nate Hamilton) – 1:07:52
3. Z3 Gold (Alexis Hergenreter, Clark Steffen, Garrett Gehringer, Jenna Gilhooly) – 1:08:15
Non-Draft Youth Age Group Races
Paratriathlon ATD1
1. Chase Miller (Chesterfield, Missouri) – 45:28
2. Raphael Wilbur (Braddock, Pennsylvania) – 56:39
Paratriathlon ATD2
1. Maci Barrett (Haslet, Texas) – 1:09:35
Age 7
Male
1. Matty Millang (Urbandale, Iowa) – 20:52
2. Caio Christiano Silva (Brentwood, Tennessee) – 23:03
3. Cason Shultz (Spring, Texas) – 25:06
4. Wells Millang (Urbandale, Iowa) – 25:11
5. Umar Hasan (Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania) – 30:10
Female
1. Emma Dietz (Bentonville, Arkansas) – 22:26
2. Crosley Tucker (Troy, Ohio) – 23:04
3. Shivani Sharma (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) – 26:52
4. Hazel Drewisis (Port Jefferson, New York) – 27:19
5. Elizabeth Schenk (Columbus, Ohio) – 29:46
Age 8
Male
1. Diego Sierra (Spring, Texas) – 20:46
2. Shane Hauck (Saint Augustine, Florida) – 21:11
3. Michael Houser (La Jolla, California) – 21:28
4. Oliver Colburn (Franklin, Tennessee) – 21:38
5. Logan Marowelli (Louisville, Kentucky) – 22:17
Female
1. Carmen Vavra (Finleyville, Pennsylvania) – 20:45
2. Rose Grisz (Grapevine, Texas) – 21:46
3. Kassandra Plata (Murphy, Texas) – 22:09
4. Miley Noe (Clive, Iowa) – 22:12
5. Adler Glassman (Spokane, Washington) – 22:15
Age 9
Male
1. Isaac Bru (Polk City, Iowa) – 18:33
2. Lucas Christiano Silva (Brentwood, Tennessee) – 18:41
3. Eli Bova (Geneva, Illinois) – 19:01
4. Grayson Allen (Morrisville, Pennsylvania) – 19:03
5. Nolan Bocan (Advance, North Carolina) – 19:39
Female
1. Shayfer Lonergan (Dallas, Texas) – 18:40
2. Carlee Evans (Virginia Beach, Virginia) – 19:11
3. Alex Bartemus (Huntersville, North Carolina) – 19:32
4. Macy Peterson (Sioux Falls, South Dakota) – 19:35
5. Zoe Kostrzewski (Des Moines, Iowa) – 20:51
Age 10
Male
1. Gavin Mahrous (Sioux Falls, South Dakota) – 16:06
2. Sampson Clancy (Greensboro, North Carolina) – 16:44
3. Sterling Stewart (Kanata, Ontario) – 16:48
4. Braylen Reilly (Sioux Falls, South Dakota) – 17:14
5. Axel Grisz (Grapevine, Texas) – 17:14
Female
1. Layla Masterson (Eudora, Kansas) – 18:54
2. Isabel Sierra (Spring, Texas) – 19:00
3. Camryn Howie (Frisco, Texas) – 19:11
4. Wilhelmina Renno (Bentonville, Arkansas) – 20:01
5. Presley Simmons (San Diego, California) – 20:12
Age 11
Male
1. John Victor Coimbra (Wesley Chapel, Florida) – 31:29
2. Iyerafei Tsimashenka (Sarasota, Florida) – 31:29
3. Asa Davidson (Flower Mound, Texas) – 31:41
4. Maverick Noe (Clive, Iowa) – 33:23
5. Willem Foreman (Mansfield, Texas) – 33:36
Female
1. Ana Sierra (Spring, Texas) – 33:14
2. Macall Kenyon (Ellicott City, Maryland) – 34:00
3. Brianna Corredero (Miami, Florida) – 34:00
4. Grace Shoemaker (Elkridge, Maryland) – 35:33
5. Edelweiss Szymanski (Safety Harbor, Florida) – 36:04
Age 12
Male
1. James Reed (Omaha, Nebraska) – 29:18
2. Eli Davidson (Flower Mound, Texas) – 29:26
3. Mitchell Harrell (Westfield, Indiana) – 30:22
4. John Bailey (Port Jefferson, New York) – 30:29
5. Jack Palmer (Beverly Hills, Michigan) – 30:43
Female
1. Naia Moctezuma (San Antonio, Texas) – 30:19
2. Soryn Lonergan (Dallas, Texas) – 31:58
3. Audrina Korn (Batavia, Illinois) – 31:59
4. Emma Casserly (Rexford, New York) – 32:05
5. Natalie Clutten (Holt, Michigan) – 33:15
Age 13
Male
1. Reece Bru (Polk City, Iowa) – 36:41
2. Lincoln Kollar (La Vergne, Tennessee) – 37:30
3. Cole Castelaz (Alameda, California) – 37:47
4. Lincoln Quinn (Winona, Minnesota) – 38:12
5. Grayson Kamminga (Ankeny, Iowa) – 39:51
Female
1. Sarabella Last (Los Altos, California) – 37:49
2. Maisie Rebol (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) – 38:40
3. Ellison Gallo (Bentonville, Arkansas) – 39:45
4. Mikenzie Petersen (Third Lake, Illinois) – 40:44
5. Harper Weber (Sioux Falls, South Dakota) – 40:59
Age 14
Male
1. Guy Orbach (Sunnyvale, California) – 32:20
2. Nathan Janet (Homer Glen, Illinois) – 35:50
3. Arkadiy Smirnoff (Los Gatos, California) – 35:53
4. Nicholas Eli Offers (Lancaster, Ohio) – 38:22
5. Kyle Xuan (Lewis Center, Ohio) – 42:32
Female
1. Maya Arsovski (Ann Arbor, Michigan) – 38:51
2. Petra Prelovac (Palo Alto, California) – 39:07
3. Kenna Kliewer (Urbandale, Iowa) – 39:19
4. Brooklynn Eisenhauer (Fremont, Ohio) – 40:07
5. Brenna Bocan (Advance, North Carolina) – 42:59
Age 15
Male
1. Arjan Mann (Palo Alto, California) – 32:26
2. Nolan Kurtz (Charlestown, Massachusetts) – 34:35
3. Tyson Parker (Kaneohe, Hawaii) – 36:05
4. Alexander Vavrinek (Lake Forest, Illinois) – 36:36
5. Drew Young (Sewickley, Pennsylvania) – 37:14
Female
1. Mia Gallo (Bentonville, Arkansas) – 39:02
2. Emmit Torok (Sparks Glencoe, Maryland) – 43:08
3. Zephie Davidson-Ferguson (Grovetown, Georgia) – 48:03
Age 16
Male
1. Callen Quinn (Spring, Texas) – 32:07
2. Quinn McCurry (Birmingham, Alabama) – 32:11
3. Tony Garafolo (Waynesville, Ohio) – 32:13
4. Cole Evans (Saint John, Indiana) – 32:33
5. Joseph McKillop (Elmhurst, Illinois) – 33:23
Female
1. Zoey Robinson (Troy, Ohio) – 35:30
2. Simona Bennett (Missouri City, Texas) – 35:48
3. Allison Klauser (Prosper, Texas) – 36:33
4. Isla Crim (Carey, Ohio) – 37:39
5. Riley Dunnett (Geneva, Illinois) – 38:05
Age 17
Male
1. Xavier Zegub (Richardson, Texas) – 33:47
2. Evan Mueller (Allen, Texas) – 34:57
3. Christopher Head (Katy, Texas) – 36:51
4. Embry Gensemer (Kulpmont, Pennsylvania) – 37:16
5. Eshaan Parnerkar (Minneapolis, Minnesota) – 39:16
Female
1. Stella Grancharov (San Antonio, Texas) – 35:04
2. Maya Berezitsky (Alpharetta, Georgia) – 36:13
3. Lhotse Samuelson (Norwalk, Iowa) – 37:08
4. Taylor Davis (Katy, Texas) – 38:41
5. London Murphy (Bradfordwoods, Pennsylvania) – 39:11
Age 18
Male
1. Parker Boykin (Lampasas, Texas) – 35:36
2. David Szczygiel (Lake Zurich, Illinois) – 39:51
Female
1. Riley Perry (Cranberry Twp, Pennsylvania) – 35:15
2. Hannah Foster (Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania) – 35:55
3. Madison Zortman (Loveland, Ohio) – 36:05
4. Alyssa Urling (Gibsonia, Pennsylvania) – 36:43
5. Kallie Bittner (Allen, Texas) – 37:55
Non-Binary Ages 13-18
1. Jamie Dew (Baltimore, Maryland) – 1:02:15
Team Awards
High Performance Team Championship
1. Z3 Triathlon Team
2. Caliber Endurance
3. Endorpin Fitness
Youth & Junior Age Group Club
1. Z3 Triathlon Team
2. Multisport Madness Triathlon Team
3. Get Fit Families
USA Triathlon is proud to serve as the National Governing Body for triathlon, as well as duathlon, aquathlon, aquabike, winter triathlon, off-road triathlon, paratriathlon, and indoor and virtual multisport events in the United States. Founded in 1982, USA Triathlon sanctions more than 3,500 events and races and connects with and supports more than 300,000 unique active members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world. In addition to its work at the grassroots level with athletes, coaches, and race directors — as well as the USA Triathlon Foundation — USA Triathlon provides leadership and support to elite athletes competing at international events, including World Triathlon Championships, Pan American Games and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. USA Triathlon is a proud member of World Triathlon and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC).
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